Massena health food store owner opens another in Ogdensburg

OGDENSBURG – The Healthy Way opened its second location in St. Lawrence County featuring iridology, bulk spices and teas as well as a large selection of wheat and gluten free products.

“I saw a need for a store here in Ogdensburg. I have customers that would travel from the city to my Massena store, as well as people from Ottawa,” said owner Bing Thomas.

The store, located at 1116 Champlain St., across from Tim Horton’s, opened July 28 with 3,000 square feet of retail space.

“My Canadian customers tell me that there is nothing like what my store offers in Ottawa,” he said.

The new store features a 7-foot tall by 20-foot wide rack that is full of bulk spices and teas.

“Spices that you would normally spend $4 on in another store you can get for about $1 when bought in bulk,” Thomas said.

Thomas, who was been in the health food business for about 20 years, says his store’s motto is “Herbal Knowledge Spoken Here.”

“We try to teach people that the body needs the right minerals to work properly,” Thomas said.

When the body isn’t working or feeling well, Thomas recommends trying iridology, which is an alternative medicine technique that reads the patterns, colors and other characteristics of the iris to determine a patient’s health.

Thomas says he takes a photo of the eye, prints it out and goes over what he sees with the customer. Each customer can take the photo home.

Health issues Thomas says he can diagnose and treat include problems with the liver, kidneys and stomach troubles.

“I recommend juniper berries to people with poor kidney functions…and within a few weeks or months people come to me and tell me how improved they are feeling,” Thomas said.

“Protein shakes are extremely popular. We sell single packets in a variety of flavors so people can see if they like it before buying in bulk,” Thomas said.